Valve structure



Feb. 28, 1961 v. A. GILL 2,973,182

VALVE STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 28, 1956 INVENTOR. VINCENT A- GILL ATTORNEY2,973,182 VALVE STRUCTURE Vincent A.- Gill, Moutclair, Na. Filed Nov.28, 1956, Ser. No. 624,791

4 Claims. c1. 25pm The invention relates to valves, and is moreparticularly directed to improvements in valves of the type wherein aplug or ball valve is mounted in a tubular body for rotation about an'axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of, or the line or flowthrough, the body. 7 V A,

In valve structures of thetypeuhder consideration snap rings have beenused to secure to'g th er'th'e assembly of the valve' and its relatedparts within the bore of the tubular body. There are numerousapplications; for example in aircraft, where the valve structure may' besubjected to considerable vibratiori' and shock which te'nds'to dislodgethe'sna'p'rin'g, whereupon the'asse rnbly may come apart and create adangeroiissitiiation. Also, when" overloads are inip'ose'dupon the snapring, a corripone'nt of force is applied tending to dislodgethe ringfrom its mating groove. Moreover, the problem; of achieving a secureassembly with asn'ap ingie resem when the assembly is first made in theteam. The'fsnap ringis located in theinterior offatubular body at'id'itis'highly desirable that a'positive inspection means be available toassurethatf the snap" ring" is properly and securely positioned in'itsmatinggrooveI' ,7

An object of the invention is -to" providenieans for cooperation with asnap ring: to assuredhat the snapirin'g' will be securelym'aintained' inits proper position, though the assembly of which it is apart issubjected 'to'vibration,shock and overload. i i i 7 U Another object oftheinvention is to":provide means Icooperating with a snap ring whichwill enable determina tionby'visual inspection that the rin gis properlyse H a; in its mating groove, thereby'as'suringfihat'thepai'ts afesecurely assembled initially. 4 i H A more spec'ific'object of theinvention ltoflmourit a plug valve within a tubular body in'amannertdassure the retention of the valve in proper positionthoughjhevalve is subjected to; substantial vibration and shock;

Still a further object of the""in vei1tion is to provide simplifiedmeans for assuring that theflyalvej issecurely and properly assembledwith its" related pa-rts,j sa id means further enabling determinationfby visual inspectionfat the point of assembly, that the partsaresecurely'and properly assembled. 1 i I I r k v,

Still another object of thejinvention is tojprovidea valve of therotatable ball type with detenfmeansfor indicating by feel whether'thevalve 'isin fully c lo sed position, such means being forrned integrallywith,ior asp'art of, the ball valve itself, thereby 'elirnin atii g 'thenecessity for additionalparts'to accorn'p fthi s"purpose' These, andother objectsa nd advantag'esof the nven: tion willbe apparent from'tliespecification which follows, taken together with the drawing, inwhich: Vi

Fig; 1 is a vertical cross -sec tio'rialiview of the valve structure ofmy invention, thevalve being shown in open position; 7 I V I V Fig.2 isa view similar toFig-l, "the-valve 'beihg' showfi in closed penning 4FigI B is a top elevational view sh6wing"th"tubular rates Patent (3bodycontaining the valve structure with the handle for turning the valvepositioned so that the valveis opentand Fig. 4 is an exploded viewshowing in perspective all of the parts comprising the valve structure,with the exception of the handle for rotating the valve.

Generally, the invention is directed to an improved means for retaininga snap ring,.,such means being constructed to cooperate with a snap ringtolirnit the ,rings ability to' become distorted and escape fromits,.mating oove despite the etfects on the] ring of substantialvibration, shock and overload .forcesll The nawing retaine'rxalso servesto permit visual" inspection folithe determinationjwheth'er the snapring'is' prope'rlypositiofi'ed or seated within its matin'g groove.'Ihe'snap ringlrtaiuer is particularly suitable for useinconjunctionwi'th a plugvalve within thebore of a tubular body toass urethe proper assembly of the valve and its related parts within the body.x

Another aspect of my invention resides in forniihggi shaping a plug orball valve so that the valve will' cqioperate" with a spring biasedvalve retaining member'ito provide" a detent for indicating when the"valve is' in its fully closed'po'sition. i I

ln'greater detail, and referring to Figs; 1 and; for a preferredform'ofthe" invention, a hollow cajsiiig or tubular body 10 having an internalbore 11 extending therethrough is" provided for conducting" any suitablefluid, liquid or gas. The'valve structureillustratdis particularlysuitable for modulating the flow of hcifair frorna suitable source to.de-icing equipment iii aircraft. The "ends of the tubular body areprovided with internal threads .12, 12' to" enable connection to"externally threade'd'lin'es or conduits leading to the source arid'point of application of the fluid. The tubular body is provided witharadial openingl t through which. extends. a valve shaft 16. The valveshaft is 'formedwith an anhu lar groove within whichis disposed anO-ring" 18 .to furnish a suitable seal between the shaft and the"adjoinifig wall of the body. A handle 20 is secured to 'the toppendofthe valve shaft by a spring type roll pin 22.. Asshown in Fig. 2, theroll pin is pressed through lateralflopenings provided in spaceddownwardly extending portions 23, 23. of the handle, and through anaperture, provided .in the intermediate valve shaft. The lower .end ofthe .valve shaft is provided with a hat sided tongue or stud,.24 adaptedto be received within a matingspline groove26 formed in a plug valve 28having a bore 30 extending therethrough for the passage of fluid. Thevalve is thus rotatable about an axis generally perpendicular .to. thelongitudinal axis of, or the line of how through, the tubular bodywithin which it is mounted. i

The plug valve may be in the form of ajcyliriderv Ora substantiallyspherically shaped ball, the latter form being preferred andillustrated.v In the preferred form of the invention, and as shown inFigs. 2 and 4,- the valve is provided with a flat area or portion 32formed onthe side of the ball which facesthe inlet side, ofthebody sbore when the valve is rotated to closed position. The flattened areaextends substantially parallel to the longi tudin -alpaxis of thevalvesbore, and lies in a plane sub;- stant'ially 90 from the in-letside 33 of the bore through the valve, Also, the, flat portionis-at aright angle with respect to the length ,of the shaft-receiving groovezd; In addition, the outside, diameter ofthe. ball lmaygbe. reduced atthe areas 34 andf34, these reduced areas being on opposite sidesoftheball, each .90? fromtth i flat portion,fand' perpendicular withrespect tothe length of thesha ft-receiving groove 26. ,The valve hasjdisposed onthe outlet'isid'ethereof a valve seat'35..',,Thefva'lv'e:seat. is an annular; washer-like 'ele'mje'nt', ,pre'fe fablyi formed'of. hard fbrass," having j on'e side thereof suitably belve chamfered"for mating engagement with the spherically" shaped ball valve. The seatis provided with a circumferential groove within which is disposed anO-ring 36 of a suitable plastic material to provide a seal with theadjoining inner wall of the body. The side of the valve seat oppositethe side which engages the valve is pressed against a radial, inwardlyextending annular shoulder 38 formed in the tubular body.

The valve is resiliently pressed against the seat 35 by a spring biasedvalve retainer 40 having a diameter slightly less than the diameter ofthe bore of the tubular body for a close sliding fit therein. The valveretainer has a central opening, is annular in shape and includes aradial, inwardly extending shoulder portion 42, one side of whichprovides a recess for receiving a retainer bearing ring 44 of suitablematerial, such as Tefion or 'Kel-F. The other side of the shoulderprovides a bearing for one end of a coiled spring 46 which urges thevalve retainer and the retainer bearing ring against the valve. Theassembly is completed by securing a snap ring 48 within the bodytogether with a coacting snap ring retainer 50, the snap ring retaineralso serving as a bearing for the opposite end of the spring 46. Thesnap ring is of the so-called internal type, as well-known in the art.Rings of this type are manufactured, for example, by Waldes-Kohinoor,and comprise a split ring provided with openings 52, 52' near each endthereof (Fig. 4), the openings being formed toreceive projections on atool so that the ring may be contracted and then allowed to expand. Thering is positioned in a mating, internal,

annular groove 54 which extends radially within the ,,;tubular body andcommunicates with the bodys bore.

The snap ring retainer 50 is annularly shaped, possesses a centralopening and has an outside diameter slightly less than the diameter ofthe bore of the tubular body for a close sliding fit therein. Theretainer may be made of a suitable hard plastic or metal. As shown inFigs. 1, 2

and 4, the snap ring retainer is provided with means for preventing theradial dimension of the snap ring from being changed to a diameter wherethe ring may escape from its mating groove. More specifically, the snapring retainer is provided with an annular shoulder or flange portion 56which, when assembled with the snap ring and related parts, extendsparallel to the longitudinfl axis of the bodys bore 11 and passesthrough the snap 'ring when the snap ring is disposed within its matinggroove. The flange portion having a smaller outside diameter than thediameter of the retainer at its outside periphery, a recess 58 isprovided to receive a portion of ithe ring. The flange portionvpreferably has a height greater than the axial thickness of the ring.The retainer provides a bearing surface 60 for engaging the portion ofthe snap ring which extends into the bore of the tubular body. Theretainer being resiliently urged axially in a direction parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the tubular body, is resiliently pressed againstthe portion of the snap ring which extends into the bore.

The retainers flange portion, which may be circumferentially continuous,as shown, or formed as a plurality of spaced upstanding segmentspositioned on a desired circumference, is dimensioned to provide anoutside diameter greater than the inside diameter to which the snap ringmay be contracted for its exit from the groove. Thus, as shown in Figs.1 and 2, upon looking into the tubular body from the inlet end, if theflange portion is completely visible through the central opening of thesnap ring (or the ring is seen to completely surround the flangeportion), one is assured that the snap ring is properly seated in thegroove 54. If the ring is not properly seated in the groove upon finalassembly, the snap ring retainer may be retracted or pushed back axiallyagainst the spring 46, the ring removed and then properly reinserted.The snap ring, when properly in place, cannot escape the groove, thoughthe assembly is subjected to vibration and shock, and the ring tooverload; the flange portion does not permit the ring to be con-,

tracted or distorted sufficiently for it to escape from the groove.

The assembly of the described parts is accomplished by first insertingthe valve seat 35 from the inlet end of the tubular body 10 until theseat is in engagement with the internal shoulder 38. The valve shaft 16,with its O-ring 18 thereon, is inserted through the radial opening 14and positioned with the tongue 24 extending parallel to the longitudinalaxis of the tubular body, as shown in Fig. 2. The valve 28, oriented sothat the groove 26 will receive the tongue 24, is inserted in thetubular body. A deep thread 12 may be used, because of the areas 34, 34of reduced diameter'which allow passage of the ball through the threadedarea. The valve retainer 40 with the sealing ring 44 positioned againstthe shoulder 42 is then inserted into engagement with the valve. Thecoiled spring 46 is then inserted with one end thereof engaging theshoulder 42 of the valve retainer, following which the snap ringretainer 50 is pressed against the opposite end of the spring anddepressed against the spring. The snap ring 48 is contracted, and thenallowed to expand into the groove 54. The snap ring retainer thensprings back, and when the fiange portion 56 is entirely visible andsurrounded by the snap ring, the assembly is complete, except forsecuring the handle 20 to the valve shaft 16, the connection of whichhas already been described. In order to provide a solid support for thehandle, and a stop for the position of the handle when turned tovalve-closed position, the handle is recessed on its underside at 62 toprovide a shoulder 63 for engagement with an upstanding pin 64 fastenedto the outside of the tubular body. Rotation of the valve from the openposition of Fig. 1 to the closed position of Fig. 2 is accomplished byturning the handle in the direction of the arrow as indicated in Fig. 3.

As the valve is rotated from its open position of Figl toward the closedposition of Fig. 2, the flat portion 32 on the side of the valve isengaged by the spring-pressed valve retainer 40, including the ring 44,to provide a detent which indicates by feel when the valve has beenrotated to fully closed position. In fact, the flat por= tion on thevalve cooperates with the spring-pressed valve retainer to snap thevalve to fully closed position, and resiliently hold same in suchposition, when the valve nears its fully closed position. Thus, completereliance need not be placed upon bringing the shoulder 63 up against thepin 64. When the valve is rotated from closed position to open position,the same kind of detent action or feel-indication is furnished by theengagement of the fiat portion of the valve, where the bore 30intersects the periphery of the ball, with the springpressed valveretainer.

It is believed that the advantages of the described snap ring retainingmeans, and valve structure including such retaining means, together withthe simplified way for indicating the position of the valve, will beapparent from the foregoing detailed disclosure. It will also beapparent that while the invention has been described and illustrated ina preferred form, numerous changes may be made to obtain equivalentstructures for the accomplishment of the described improved resultswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as soughtto be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A valve structure comprising a tubular body having a bore for thepassage of fluid therethrough, a plug valve mounted in said body forrotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of flow through saidbody, said plug valve having a fluid conducting bore extendingtherethrough, said plug valve having an external surface of therevolution interrupted by a flat portion on the side thereof facing theinlet side of the body bore when the plug valve is closed with said fiatportion being substantially parallel to the axis of the plug valve bore,a valve seat disposed within said body bore on the outlet side of thebody bore, a plug valve engaging member axially movable within the inletside of said body bore, and resilient means for pressing said plug valveengaging member against the plug valve, said plug valve engaging memberhaving a surface engaging said plug valve at a zone displaced from theaxis of rotation of said plug valve in a direction along the axis ofsaid body bore, said plug valve engaging member surface engaging theflat portion of said plug valve when the plug valve is in its closedposition to resiliently retain the plug valve in such position and toindicate that the plug valve has been rotated to its closed position.

2. A valve structure comprising a tubular body having a bore for thepassage of fluid therethrough, a plug valve mounted in said body forrotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of flow through saidbody, said valve having a fluid conducting bore extending therethrough,said valve having an external surface of revolution interrupted by aflat portion on a side thereof facing the inlet side of the body borewhen the valve is closed, with said flat portion being substantiallyparallel to the axis of the valve bore, a valve seat disposed withinsaid body bore on the outlet side of the body bore, a valve engagingmember axially movable within the inlet side of said body bore,resilient means for pressing said valve engaging member against thevalve, said valve engaging member having a surface engaging said valveat a zone displaced from the axis of rotation of said valve in adirection along the axis of said valve bore, said valve engaging membersurface engaging the flat portion of said valve when the valve is in itsclosed position to resiliently retain the valve in such position and toindicate that the valve has been rotated to its closed position, a snapring retainer disposed within the inlet side of said body bore andengaged by said resilient means, a snap ring groove in said body, and asnap ring having a portion thereof disposed within said groove andanother portion projecting radially inwardly into said body bore, aportion of said snap ring retainer extending axially within said snapring for preventng reduction in the diameter of the snap ring suflicientto allow removal of the snap ring from said snap ring groove.

3. A valve structure comprising a tubular body having a bore for thepassage of fluid therethrough, a generally spherical plug valve bothslidably and rotatably mounted in said body bore, means for rotatingsaid valve about an axis perpendicular to the axis of flow through saidbody, said valve having a fluid conducting bore extending therethrough,a sliding connection between said valve rotating means and said valveextending in a direction normal to theaxis of the bore in said valve,said valve having a flat portion on a side thereof facing the inlet sideof the body bore when the valve is closed with said flat portion beingsubstantially parallel to the axis of the valve bore, a valve seatdisposed within said body bore on the outlet side of the body bore, avalve engaging member axially movable within the inlet side of said bodybore, and resilient means for pressing said valve engaging memberagainst the valve and hence pressing the valve against its seat, saidvalve engaging member having a surface engaging said valve at a zonedisplaced from the axis of rotation of said valve in a direction alongthe axis of said valve bore, said valve engaging member surface engagingthe flat portion of said valve when the valve is in its closed positionto resiliently retain the valve in such position and to indicate thatthe valve has been rotated to its closed position.

4. A valve structure comprising a tubular body having a bore for thepassage of fluid therethrough, said bore having an inlet side and anoutlet side, a generally spherical plug valve both slidably androtatably mounted in said body bore, means for rotating said valve aboutan axis perpendicular to the axis of flow through said body, said plugvalve having a fluid conducting bore extending therethrough, a slidingkey connection between said r0 tating means and said plug valveextending in a direction normal to the axis of said valve bore, saidplug valve having an imperforate flat portion on a side thereof facingthe inlet side of said body bore when the valve is closed with said flatportion being substantially parallel to the axis of said valve bore, areduced annular shoulder in said body bore on the outlet side of saidbody bore, a valve seat secured in said body bore between said shoulderand said plug valve, said plug valve having a spherical portiondiametrically opposite said flat portion and engagea-ble with said valveseat, an annular groove in said body bore on the inlet side of said plugvalve spaced therefrom, a snap ring within said annular groove, atubular sleeve slidably mounted in said body bore between said snap ringand said plug valve, a compression spring between said snap ring andsaid sleeve urging said sleeve into engagement with said plug valve,said spring also urging said plug valve into engagement with said valveseat, said sleeve engaging said flat portion on said plug valve whensaid plug valve bore is transverse to said body bore to resilientlyretain said plug valve in such position.

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